Auto Club: Gas Prices Could Be Bottoming Out

(Victor Valley)– Southern California gas prices continued dropping in the last week, but could be reversing course in the coming weeks as refineries begin shutting down units for maintenance and conversion to “summer blend” fuel production, according to Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch. The retail statewide average is $3.26 a gallon for regular unleaded, which is four cents lower than last week.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.29 per gallon, which is three cents lower than last week, 13 cents lower than last month, and four cents higher than last year. In San Diego, the average price is $3.24, which is five cents lower than last Thursday, 15 cents lower than last month, and two cents higher than this time last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.33, which is three cents lower than last week, ten cents lower than last month, and nine cents higher than last year. In Riverside, the average per-gallon price is $3.17, which is three cents lower than last week, 12 cents lower than last month, and one cent less than at this time last year. In San Bernardino, the $3.22 average price is four cents lower than last week, 14 cents lower than last month, and two cents higher than last year at this time.

“According to Oil Price Information Service, the major Southern California supply pipeline will begin shipping ‘summer blend’ gasoline at the end of this month,” said Auto Club spokesman Jeffrey Spring. “Air quality requirements dictate that the summer fuel blend must be sold in most Southern California areas starting April 1. However, that blend usually arrives in stations much earlier to coincide with refinery maintenance and pipeline schedules, and it adds at least 12 cents a gallon to the fuel price.”

The Weekend Gas Watch monitors the average price of gasoline. As of 9 a.m. on Jan. 17, averages are: